The regular weekend lineup of health care news, including doctors trying to limit nurse anesthetists' practices; text messaging for teenager dermatitis patients; Hewitt's cost projections for 2011; physicians and the…
Read More
Spurred by government funds and regulations, the medical world is rushing to implement electronic records and other functionality. The consequences may not always be great, as a recent study suggests.
Read More
There has been a major push to expand measurement of provider quality, as defined by process of care and outcomes. A study suggests that having good quality doesn't necessarily mean…
Read More
Enthusiasm abounds regarding new forms of physician encounters, such as phone, email and video visits. A pilot study from the Mayo Clinic suggests that such visits may reduce in-person encounters…
Read More
Uwe Reinhardt is one of the wise old men of health care economics and policy. The New York Times has a recent blog column by him in which he reviews…
Read More
Hospitals and other providers often use group purchasing organizations to facilitate obtaining goods and services at better prices and other terms. A GAO report looks at some of the business…
Read More
The days shorten but the potpourri stays strong, this week including information on the safety of FDA-cleared devices; medication adherence; genetic tests; the FDA and CMS working together to review…
Read More
A Congressional Budget Office Report finds that Medicare Part D and its beneficiaries have accrued very significant savings, about 55%, from use of generic drugs and that more savings may…
Read More
Two recent publications explore the potential of widespread use of the medical home concept to create better primary care and coordination of overall care for patients, and examine barriers and…
Read More
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine gives heart to supporters of telephone-based care management programs. Largely because of reduced hospitalizations, patients in the intervention arm had…
Read More
Telemedicine is being applied to many diseases and conditions and telemonitoring is spreading as a core component of self-management of health and a method to ensure greater continuity of care.…
Read More
The Dartmouth Atlas researches whether more primary care necessarily leads to better quality of care. The answer appears to be usually not, but the explanation for this result is complex…
Read More
The days are shortening and the light fades, but there is still enough to read our Potpourri, which this week includes two benefit consultants' views on health care coverage costs…
Read More
CMS is very enamored of quality ratings for providers of all types, including the Medicare Advantage plans, which are rated on a five-star basis. A new brief examines changes to…
Read More
An article in Health Affairs looks at new proposals for paying physicians on an at-risk basis in light of the historical experience with capitation, which operated in a similar manner.
Read More
About this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Overcast
PocketCasts
Radio Public
Stitcher
Anchor
RSS - Posts